Clinical Significance of MET Gene Copy Number in Patients with Curatively Resected Gastric Cancer

The present study analyzed the prognostic impact of MET gene copy number in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer who received a combination regimen of cisplatin and S-1. The MET gene copy number was analyzed by use of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. From January 2006 to July 2010, 70 tumor samples from 74 patients enrolled in a pilot study were analyzed. According to a cutoff MET gene copy number of ≥2 copies, a high MET gene copy number was observed in 38 patients (54.3%). The characteristics of the 2 groups divided according to MET gene copy number were similar. With a median follow-up duration of 26.4 months (range, 2.6-73.2 months), the estimated 3-year relapse-free survival and overall survival rates were 54.3% and 77.4%, respectively. No significant association was observed between the MET gene copy number and survival in a multivariate analysis. The MET gene copy number investigated in this study was not found to be associated with prognosis in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer.